"Is a vaccine against the coronavirus really coming soon?"
"Is a vaccine against the coronavirus really coming soon?"
Santa Banana, finally, after six months of battling the coronavirus disease, the world is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!
Russia is reported to have developed a cure for the virus, and is ready to share it with the world. In fact, President Duterte has already contacted the firm in Russia for the purchase of the cure for COVID-19, and my gulay, Duterte is even willing to be part of the testing!
The Russians say however that the vaccine will be available to the Philippine not earlier than November 2020.
There is also that traditional medicine from China which is reported to be also a vaccine against the virus. In fact, it was also tested by the Food and Drugs institute and approved, and available for distribution.
In fact, some 12 other countries have also developed vaccines for the cure of COVID-19. All these reports are positive for the country, already suffering and is already on its knees. The economy is now in recession.
But my wife and I choose to be on the wary side. That traditional Chinese medicine (I can never remember its name) is said to be a stimulant which could have ill effects on some people. This is true on almost all drugs and medicine. I am extra careful about taking medicines and drugs, being allergic to so many things. I’m particularly wary about the side effects of drugs.
That Russian vaccine which Duterte is talking about isn’t approved yet by the World Health Organization. Until the WHO give its seal of approval, Duterte would do well to be on the safe side.
As far as I am concerned, the discovery of a cure for COVID-19 is good news in any language. It gives the world hope that within the year, we could finally beat this virus.
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The President will announce today, August 17, whether we in Metro Manila will be subjected to another 15 days of tight restrictions.
There are speculations that it could be Modified General Community Quarantine. Whatever it is, my wife and I are ready for anything. We have been staying home for almost six months now, anyway.
There have been suggestions by well-meaning health experts that Duterte should extend the MECQ for another 15 days, but there are also those who say that millions are now suffering under the MECQ. I can believe that, because under the MECQ millions of Filipinos cannot go to work. Those who have livelihoods are also suffering.
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President Duterte did well to postpone the opening of public schools from August 24 to October 5.
First of all, not all enrollees have the tools for blended learning. Even teachers have in fact complained that they are not yet ready.
Students in Metro Manila may be ready, but the big problem is at the provincial level – especially in rural areas.
I’m all for the suggestion of many for the government to use the radio and television frequencies of the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN. After all, these are part of the domain of the state.
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The President has no choice but to revamp, from top to bottom, the state health insurer, PhilHealth. The agency has been involved in too many anomalies.
These anomalies are supposedly committed by a “mafia.” The result is the loss of billions of pesos. This could only be possible because of the incompetence and negligence of its officials. As far as I am concerned, incompetence and negligence are far worse than graft and corruption. We can jail the corrupt, but there are no hospitals for the incompetent and the negligent.
The resuscitation of PhilHealth is urgent because it affects almost every Filipino who gets sick. I am sure that there are many competent people ready and willing to help PhilHealth get back to business. I cannot emphasize enough how urgent this is.
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What I cannot understand is the deafening silence of whoever has been tasked to dig deeper into the mysterious death of so many convicts at the New Bilibid Prison. There are reports that some of them are high-profile drug lords.
There are reports that the bodies of convicts have been identified as belonging to convicted drug lords, when in fact these drug lords have been released surreptitiously by the Bureau of Corrections. My source tells me that many more have died since that time. Just who they are, we don’t know for sure. The Corrections chief is not talking.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra must require the chief of BuCor to make public all who died and who were cremated, and those who died of coronavirus disease or of other illnesses.
The public has the right to know what is going on.